Rent increases for new tenancies grew by 9 per cent across the country in the last three months of 2021, according to the latest report from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
The rental market watchdog’s quarterly price index of new tenancies put the national standardised average rent at €1,415, with average rents ranging from €1,972 a month in Dublin to €740 in Leitrim.
The 9 per cent increase across new tenancies was the highest year-on-year jump in average rents since late 2017.
The RTB report showed that 14 counties had double-digit rent inflation compared with a year ago, with rents soaring outside the Dublin area.
Rents for new tenancies increased by 25.2 per cent in Roscommon, by 26.7 per cent in Waterford City, by 17.8 per cent in Westmeath and by 16.6 per cent in Donegal.
In Dublin the highest rents were in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area at €2,173 a month, compared to average rents of €1,836 in Fingal County Council. Average rent in Cork city was €1,392 per month and €1,130 a month in Co Cork, while average rent in Galway city was €1,293.
There was a 48 per cent drop in the number of new tenancies registered with the RTB in the last three months of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020, down to 9,350 new tenancies.
The report raised concern that the number of new tenancies being registered “declined notably in all areas” during the final three months of 2021. It warned of potential market volatility in counties with lower numbers of rental accommodation.
Niall Byrne, RTB Director, said the index showed continued growth in rents, while the number of new tenancies dropped.
“This is likely driven by factors such as continuing constraints on the supply of rental properties and by current tenants choosing to stay longer in their existing tenancies,” he said.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing, Eoin Ó Broin, said the rent increases were heaping significant additional costs on workers and families.
“The Government’s 2 per cent rent cap is not working,” he said. “We need a ban on rent increases on all existing and new tenancies, and we need the Government to put money back in renters’ pockets through a refundable tax credit worth a month’s rent.
“Government must also accept that their social and affordable rental targets for 2022 are not sufficient and must be revised upwards.”
